Stepping back into the future
June 19, 2008
Most farmers these days use tractors and other heavy equipment for their “horse power,” but for Stuart Schroeder of Stone Horse Farm, Bonnie and Betsey do the heavy lifting. Five-year-old Percherons weighing in at 1,500 pounds each and 17 hands high, these gals are the backbone of the farm. No...Read Article

Mexican lime chicken soupJune 19, 2008
This dish from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is traditionally made with a lime-like citrus fruit known in Spanish as “limas agrias” (sour lemon). Because the fruit is just becoming available in the United States, this version of the soup calls for an alternative, either Mexican or Persian limes, but you can...Read Article

Fire destroys Canon Manor home
June 19, 2008
A home was destroyed in an early morning blaze Wednesday near Rohnert Park.
About 10 engines from 10 departments, spanning from Petaluma to Bennett Valley, responded to the fire at 1:40 a.m. Wednesday in Canon Manor, across from Sonoma State University. “It was a significant fire,” said Rancho Adobe Fire District...Read Article

Report card says Rancho down, Tech High up
June 19, 2008
Rohnert Park’s two high schools achieved very different scores on the recently released California Academic Performance Index. The report is “used as the starting point for measuring annual academic growth on a school-by-school basis,” said the Sonoma County Office of Education.
The target API score California has set for its schools...Read Article

Data from RP wells reveals rising groundwater level under city
June 19, 2008
Amid statewide cries of water shortage, potential drought conditions and urgent calls for water rationing, Rohnert Park’s City Engineer, Darrin Jenkins says, “Let’s do it again!”
Do what again, Darrin?
Well, last year the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) asked its customers to reduce their potable water consumption by 20 percent from...Read Article

Tropical celebration marks Gold Ridge's final farewell
June 19, 2008
Sounds of tropical music permeated the air while the scent of roasted pig and traditional luau food floated along the breeze. One could almost hear the palm trees swaying. But this wasn’t on a tropical island, it was the blacktop and field at Gold Ridge Elementary School June 5 where...Read Article

Proud to represent 'The Friendly City' in Miss CA programJune 19, 2008
I present to you a very candid, no-holds-barred glimpse of Miss Sonoma County 2008. And, if things go according to my wildest dreams, Miss California and Miss America 2008, too.
As a Rohnert Park native, I grew up playing handball at Marguerite Hahn Elementary School and thinking of the Spreckels Performing...Read Article

Sclafani & Hill engagement
June 19, 2008
Kelly Sclafani and Steve Hill are pleased to announce their upcoming wedding on July 26, 2008 in La Jolla, CA.
Kelly is the daughter of Albert and Donna Sclafani of Bakersfield, CA and is a graduate of University of California, Riverside. She is employed by Medegen, Inc. of Ontario, CA as...Read Article

Gritty Sam Shepard play grips audience on Spreckels stageJune 19, 2008
Well, a lot of families have difficulties. Sibling envy and competition have been constantly explored in solemn, scholarly, heavily-footnoted books found on social worker’s offices, but tell me, how many of them explore the intense satisfaction of beating a typewriter to death with a five iron?
This is fertile territory...Read Article

This Father's Day, give dad a financial toolkit
June 19, 2008
Father’s Day is almost here. If your father is handy around the house, you might be considering giving him tools of some kind. Of course, drills, sanders, saws and screwdrivers make excellent gifts, but this year, why not give Dad something that can help him build his future? Specifically, why...Read Article

Employing your child may help avoid the kiddie tax
June 19, 2008
Hiring your child to work for the family business can be a tax-smart move made even smarter by recent tax law changes.
When you put your children on the payroll, your taxable income is effectively shifted to the child’s lower tax bracket. The business receives a wage deduction, and your child...Read Article

Still aging gracefully at 82
June 19, 2008
Last year for Father’s Day we were in Normandy. My father, my two sons and I traveled to Normandy for D-Day celebrations.
My father was in the Navy at the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 at the age of 18, and had never been back to those memorable beaches....Read Article

To fluoridate or not to fluoridate
June 19, 2008
Fluorine is an element with an atomic number of nine. It is the most reactive element known to man. It is not found by itself in nature and it always binds to other elements and can even bind with some of the noble gasses which are otherwise inert.
Fluorine is...Read Article

Still time to sow summer seedsJune 19, 2008
Although it is somewhat late in the season, seeds of the warm season veggies can still be sown. There is still time for summer crops like tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and other squashes, and cucumbers as well. They like a warm soil to sprout and we are in prime temperatures for...Read Article

Facing climate change in the Russian River region
June 19, 2008
Climate change is a global process with some very real, local impacts on the Russian River and the people who live and work in Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties.
We know, for example, that four of the last eight years have had unusually low springtime rainfall. This year’s March and April...Read Article

Donate items to the shelter
June 19, 2008
Do you buy cases of bottled water or sodas? Want to help animals? Recycle your cardboard at the shelter.
We use these cardboard flats as disposable litter pans for our kittens and that saves us thousands of dollars each year. We can also use the tops to cases of paper...Read Article

Successful Senior Week
June 19, 2008
We, the advisers of Rancho Cotate’s Class of 2008, would like to formally thank all of the community members, organizations, businesses and parents who helped to make Senior Week a success. We were overwhelmed by the generous donations of both time and resources. We would like to thank Sally Tomatoes,...Read Article

Print the names
June 19, 2008
The number of incidents listed weekly under RP/Cotati Police Reports have steadily risen. Unless it is forbidden by law, I suggest the names of the perpetrators of these unlawful acts be published as well.
It may not solve the problem entirely but perhaps the idea that their names are publicized as...Read Article

Submit a letter to the editor
June 19, 2008
The Community Voice encourages and welcomes readers to submit letters to the editor. It is an excellent way for citizens to share their opinions on issues. Letters must be signed and must include the author’s telephone number. The Voice will call to verify the origin of the letter. The Voice...Read Article

Peer counseling brings new light into lives of seniors
June 19, 2008
“This is the first time I’ve ever shared this story with someone.”
According to Shan Magnuson, director of the Sonoma County Senior Peer Program, they’ve heard those words from their clients many times.
“To me, this is a testimonial to this program,” said Magnuson. “That is the core to the...Read Article

Homes and biz OK'd for RP's Stadium Plan
June 19, 2008
Rohnert Park’s City Council overturned the Planning Commission’s decision to deny residential and commercial projects on the former Crusher Stadium site and approved a General Plan amendment and zoning changes. The vote was 4-1 with Councilman Tim Smith dissenting.
The vote culminated nearly six years of discussions and debates. The Western...Read Article

Is it the soil?June 19, 2008
“There’s a reason Rohnert Park is so high in asthma cases,” says one woman in Rohnert Park.
Theresa, who requested her last name not be printed, never had breathing problems until she moved into her home in Rohnert Park’s S Section. She is convinced RP is second highest in the...Read Article

Peet's Coffee wins OK from Cotati Design Review Committee
June 19, 2008
Peet’s Coffee and Tea got a 3-0 approval from Cotati’s Design Review Committee last week to move into the former Frank’s Freeze restaurant at Gravenstein and Old Redwood highways in the city’s northern tip.
The committee has six members but only Chairman Greg LeDoux, Neil Hancock and Sally Glendenning were...Read Article

Hats off to the class of 2008
June 19, 2008
Rancho Cotati and Technology High both held their graduation ceremony Friday, June 6 at their respective school. Rancho confirmed over 300 students while Tech High’s class was just under 40.
Read Article

Pancake breakfast and rummage sale fundraisers this weekend
June 19, 2008
Don Loughmiller, 34, of Rohnert Park is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. Raising money to help his family is the Cotati Lions Club with a multi-family yard sale this Saturday and Sunday at the Lions Club, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.
They’re also holding a Father’s Day pancake breakfast...Read Article

Sally Tomatoes has big plans
June 19, 2008
They held a sneak preview of the Sally Tomatoes Nightclub and Event Center in Sonoma Mountain Village last week and the preliminary gathering place was the bar. This brought out an assortment of staffers from Codding Enterprises and host Gerard Giudice to get an eyeful of what was in store...Read Article

'Old and New' market coming to RP Community Center
June 19, 2008
The Old and New Summer Market will be held on three Saturdays: June 28, July 26 and August 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rohnert Park Community Center located at 5401 Snyder Lane. Vendors will be located in the Community Center courtyard. The day will feature food...Read Article

Early morning SWAT call out in Rohnert Park
June 19, 2008
On June 7 at approximately 1:35 a.m., RP Department of Public Safety received a 9-1-1 call reporting a domestic violence at 4555 Harmony Pl. The suspect, Roger Halliard, was armed with a handgun and a shot had been fired. Officer Andrew Smith was patrolling near the area and was on...Read Article

Police probe H Section gunshot death
June 19, 2008
Things weren’t too harmonious at 4555 Harmony Place in Rohnert Park when a 911 call to the Dept. of Public Safety came through at 1:35 a.m. Saturday about domestic violence at that address. Reports said a man was armed with a handgun and a shot had been fired.
Officer Andrew Smith...Read Article

To catch a clam in Sonoma CountyJune 19, 2008
We loaded up wearing our most ripped and stained clothing. The clam shovels, rings, pumps, bamboo sticks and buckets were in the boat. Lucy and Buddy were holding down the dog bed in the back of the truck.
The beautiful ride to Tomales Bay is only 45 minutes from Rohnert Park....Read Article

Headed for the majors?
June 19, 2008
Left to right, Rohnert Park’s Michael Clark, 11, Neil Morris, 8, and Austin Caderon, 11, went to San Francisco June 1 for the 2008 San Francisco Giants Pitch, Hit and Run Team Championships. All three boys qualified through a series of rounds held in Cotati at Helen Putnam Park, hosted...Read Article